BLURB:

Ada Lamarr may have gotten to the spaceship wreck first, but looter’s rights won’t get her far when she’s got a hole in the side of her ship and her spacesuit is almost out of air. Fortunately for her, help arrives in the form of a government salvage crew—and while they reluctantly rescue her from certain death, they are not pleased to have an unexpected passenger along on their classified mission.

But Ada doesn’t care—all that matters to her is enjoying their fine food and sweet, sweet oxygen—until Rian White, the government agent in charge, starts to suspect that there’s more to Ada than meets the eye. He’s not wrong—but he’s so pretty that Ada is perfectly happy to keep him paying attention to her—at least until she can complete the job she was sent to pull off. But as quick as Ada is, Rian might be quicker—and she may not be entirely sure who’s manipulating who until it’s too late…

A phenomenally fun novella that kicks off a trilogy of sexy space heists and romantic tension, Full Speed to a Crash Landing is packed with great characters and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.

MY THOUGHTS:

I stumbled upon Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis at the library, and I’m so glad I did! This novella took me on an unexpected and thrilling ride, and it was incredibly creative. From the very first page, I felt like I was right there in space with the characters. The world-building was so vivid, I could practically feel the heat of a volcano erupting and the intensity of climbing a cliff with Ada. The author did an amazing job with the setting, pulling me into the action and keeping me hooked.

One of the highlights for me was the twist at the end. It took me by surprise, and in retrospect, I can see how the snarky behavior of the main character, Ada, might have been a subtle hint to that reveal. However, Ada’s attitude definitely caused some frustration for me. At first, I thought her sarcasm and snark were kind of cute, but as the story progressed, it just became overdone. I almost didn’t finish the book because of how intolerable her character became. That said, knowing the twist now, I get why she acted the way she did, but it still didn’t make her any less irritating.

Another thing I wish the book had explored more was the wreck and the story behind it. I loved the flashback to two years ago when Ada encounters the aftermath of a deadly event on another ship—those moments were chilling and captivating! I would have liked to see more of that and understand more about the wreck itself.

One thing that really threw me off was the suggestion that this book has a romantic or sexual element. I didn’t feel any romantic tension between Ada and Rian, and there’s absolutely no love story here. This is definitely not a romance novel. It felt more like a sci-fi adventure with a lot of action and survival themes, and that’s what made it enjoyable for me.

All in all, Full Speed to a Crash Landing was a fun, fast-paced read that whisked me away to a whole new world. I could totally imagine it as a movie playing out in front of me. Despite my frustrations with Ada’s character, I think Beth Revis did a fantastic job crafting this sci-fi adventure. I’m giving this book three stars—mainly because the constant sarcasm got on my nerves, but still, I really enjoyed the ride!

Here are my favorite quotes from the book:

“But he’s got this air about him, like he knows how the universe fits together, and that makes me wonder how I might fit into his carefully organized world.”

“Maybe there will be someone like me, millions and millions of years from now, who finds something from us, who will know that even if the universe is silent, it wasn’t always.”

“Life is a fucking miracle. How did the right atoms collide and the right DNA strands evolve and the right lucky breaks in planetary development build up over trillions of years in the impossible expanse of all of time and space to make you? A series of accidents and luck and planning and fate and maybe God or maybe just the sheer chaos of it all conspired to make the life within you, all eternity stretching to a pinpoint that coincides with your first breath.”

Happy Reading!